Okay... So I have a king sized bed. The top was a sleep system type, with 2 water bladders that u filled to ur liking and the bottom is 2 twin box springs. A couple months ago one of the bladders had a seam rip in it and could not b repaired so we threw it out and placed an air mattress on top of the box springs. Even though the box springs have encasements I still get bit. I'm throwing out the box springs, but I don't want to just lay the air mattress on the hard wood floor so I was thinking of putting something on the bed frame and putting the air mattress on that, but what should I use ?? A big piece of plywood? 2 by 4 slats ? Or should I just put it on the floor since the little [expletive deleted] are gonna get me anyway? Any advice would b greatly appreciated . I already have the box springs wrapped, taped and marked since the trash man comes tomorrow.

Without sounding like a broken record or a whiney baby, could someone, anyone tell me what I should use? I don't want to run out and buy something just to come on here and find out it's totally wrong! I do not want to make this problem harder than I already have by trying to self treat , before I found this forum, and I just want to sleep.

The type of bed you have will have little effect on your bed bug problem. Slats, a piece of plywood -- it doesn't matter. Bed bugs often prefer a mattress to live in but they'll just as easily take hold in floor boards or nearby furniture.

Focus your efforts on eliminating the bugs, not on figuring out what kind of bed set up to have.

[quote]Focus your efforts on eliminating the bugs, not on figuring out what kind of bed set up to have.[quote] The kind of bed I have is an air mattress and I'm just trying to figure out if I can put a piece of wood under it on the frame. And believe me, ALL of my efforts are focused on getting rid of these little bastards, but I do need to sleep. I'm doing everything I possibly can to keep these monsters at bay till I can save enuff for a professional. I'm a server and my husband gets disability and I have 3 children and I get no welfare and I'm just doing the best I can.

There's a lot of advice on this site on keeping your bugs under control until you can get a PCO in there. Read the FAQ and posts here on the forum. It is a lot of work, but you can beat this. A lot of vacuuming, and vigilance can go a long way.

There are also cheap solutions like climb ups that can lessen the bites while you sleep. These are all temporary solutions because most likely your problem will only be resolved by professional help.

Do you own your home because if you do not, it is likely that the property owner will be responsible for paying for treatment.

I do own our home. sometimes I wish I lived in an apartment so the landlord would have to pay for treatment but as it stands I am the landlord I have read the FAQs and I read this forum every night before bed. I'm sorry for all the people who have to deal or have had to deal with these little f*ckers. These forums are awesome. Hopefully someday I'll b on here with my success story!

I hear you saying that you have encasements on the box springs but you're still being bitten, so you're going to get rid of the box springs.

If the encasements on the box springs are ripped, then they could be causing the problem, and lots of people want to get rid of box springs under the circumstances.

However, I just want to point out that you could be bitten even if you don't have box springs -- they can be on the floor and climbing up to bite you. This can be true if you have a bed frame or put the air mattress directly on the floor.

If you must self-treat, I recommend reading the Comprehensive Guides in the Resources page, since they go into detail about how to eliminate bed bugs. They will have suggestions for things you can do.

Are you sure you have bed bugs? Have you had a sample identified by an expert?

Nobugsonme......
.Positive its bedbugs. We had a PCO here a few months ago and he confirmed. He also quoted me a price to treat my house and its way more than I can afford so I have to save up for it. Most people save up for a vacation or a new car, I'm saving for an exterminator... Sigh.. hopefully I'll have enuff soon. These things eat me alive. I have decided to wait on throwing any beds away till the pco comes. I'll toss them the morning of treatment. That way, they can't ba cause of re-infestation, and it will give me better piece of mind. I just wish them little bastards wouldn't bite me so much. Thanks for pointing out the resource page. And thanks for this forum. It is truly a gift!

I too was tempted to just throw my bed away - frame, mattress and boxspring, until I read this forum. Now the bedframe's been treated, the mattress & boxspring incased, and DE sprinkled on the frame & under the bed. But I was still getting bit as well. What really helped me was double-sided carpet tape. I put it all around my mattress on the side...over top the sheet. Then I'd sleep in the bed as bait. The adults didn't like to cross the tape and I never got bit - I watched a few walk up, stick a feeler out, and march away. Of course, they were trodding through poison and DE all the way. The nymphs however tried to cross the tape and all got stuck. When I'd change the sheets and remove the tape, I could see dozens of little translucent bodies stuck in the tape. I stopped getting bit with that tape and though not BB-free yet, it's made a HUGE difference. Best of luck!

I will try the double sided tape thing... And my mattresses are incased but they constantly have holes that I duck tape. Pretty soon the whole bed will be nothing but duck tape. Hmmmm... Don't sound like a bad idea .....

The problem with isolating the bed (and double sided tape, if it works, would be an example) is that some feel it can make bed bugs spread to new areas of the home, which makes treatment more difficult.

We got rid of our couch in early June and with the exception of an upholstered chair in our living room, we have been living without furniture downstairs for the last three months. We were pretty confident they were gone after a negative K9 inspection about a month ago, but have had a few incidences of "possible evidence" and "possible bites." It has been about 7 weeks since our last PCO treatment and I have been monitoring and want to believe that if any are left, they are confined to the bed since we have rested in no other areas the last three months and hoped that in that time they would have made their way upstairs to the bed. We never found evidence in the upholstered chair down stairs. This weekend we finally bought another couch. My thinking was that if they are in the bed and we continue to go in it, they will not want to leave to go to the couch. I also keep my pajamas on the bed until they can go directly into the washer. The bedroom remains isolated, so no items are transported from the room to other areas in the house. - But now that I've read your above post, I'm concerned that maybe they were in other areas of the house all along and didn't go into the bed because of the ClimbUps and will now infest the new couch. Is this a rational concern or do you think in the three months time it's more likely they would have attempted to get into the bed?

I'm tired of encasements. I just ordered another set (the third) for my bed. They are part of the reason I think I was "reinfested." We were doing really good (I thought) for a few weeks, but then I noticed a little evidence and when I did a thorough inspection, found a few small holes in the corner of my encasement. I have tried to be careful with them, but I am not there to remind my PCOs they have to be careful. In retrospect, I had such a small infestation, had I not encased, the few that got caught in the encasement may have crawled through the poison and died.

BugsMustDie - 1 hour ago »
NoBugs,
Does this concern include the use of ClimbUps?
We got rid of our couch in early June and with the exception of an upholstered chair in our living room, we have been living without furniture downstairs for the last three months. We were pretty confident they were gone after a negative K9 inspection about a month ago, but have had a few incidences of "possible evidence" and "possible bites." It has been about 7 weeks since our last PCO treatment and I have been monitoring and want to believe that if any are left, they are confined to the bed since we have rested in no other areas the last three months and hoped that in that time they would have made their way upstairs to the bed. We never found evidence in the upholstered chair down stairs. This weekend we finally bought another couch. My thinking was that if they are in the bed and we continue to go in it, they will not want to leave to go to the couch. I also keep my pajamas on the bed until they can go directly into the washer. The bedroom remains isolated, so no items are transported from the room to other areas in the house. - But now that I've read your above post, I'm concerned that maybe they were in other areas of the house all along and didn't go into the bed because of the ClimbUps and will now infest the new couch. Is this a rational concern or do you think in the three months time it's more likely they would have attempted to get into the bed?
Thanks for all your help!

First, I am really not an expert on this. I defer to others who are.

Tape catches bed bugs (if it works) and the distress of being caught might cause the alarm pheromones to be released.

If bed bugs were encountering an obstacle, setting off alarm pheromones, and then other bed bugs were dispersing to other areas, you should in your case (I think) at least find the bed bug that was trapped and set off the alarm.

If no bed bugs have been caught in your ClimbUps, then I don't see how they could have set off alarm pheromones to "warn" others -- if this is even a concern.

Alternatively, tape also might just cause bed bugs to walk away (as the other posters described in the thread I linked to above). ClimbUps should not do that, since the bed bug gets into the ClimbUp.

Here's what I think I know (again, experts, please correct me):

A study has shown ClimbUps can catch bed bugs in the field. More than one bed bug -- so it's not like you catch one and they all flee for the hills.

Many PMPs recommend and use ClimbUps.

At least one PMP (David Cain, who invented a different kind of monitor, the BBAlert Passive) has expressed concern that monitors like ClimbUps might cause bed bugs to be deterred and spread. However, we haven't seen any studies showing this will happen.

Thanks, Nobugs. I also have David's passive monitor. That's my current method of trying to determine if they are gone. No, I have not caught bed bugs in my ClimbUps, but I have caught other bugs (including a spider) so I know they work. That's why I was pretty certain they escaped from the rip in my encasement. But now my concern is if there is another undetected hole in the encasement, they may be living in there and will not go into the passive. I have invested in better encasements (Protect A Bed) and when they arrive, I am going to do one final caulking and painting of my metal frame and put on the new encasements so if any are left in the bed, they will properly relocate into the passive monitor. I do feel better about the couch now that you have responded since I think within the 3 months, they would have tried to get into the bed.

Ashamed, I honestly don't know if I've been bit...I have had an onset of crazy skin conditions that have surfaced with the stress of having bed bugs. I know some of the old bites still flare up and I have also experienced skin rashes since the bed bugs. The rashes are still present so I don't know if my body is still reacting (which is what some people have reported experiencing for a few months after bugs) or if I am still getting bit. My husband never reacted, so he isn't helpful. I have found a few blood spots that have no other rational cause. I would love to know for certain they are gone, but these ongoing problems and the mystery evidence make me concerned that they're not.
Thanks for the advice